Dave Bautista said Sunday that working for Disney was "nauseating" and defended James Gunn after the company fired the Guardians of the Galaxy director for old tweets that were unearthed by far-right conservatives last month.
The actor and wrestler who plays Drax the Destroyer said he will do what he is "legally obligated to do" as far as continuing with the Guardians franchise, before calling out Disney, who he says empowered "a smear campaign by fascists."
I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel https://t.co/Ym4FwruVDu
"That's just how I feel," Bautista said, responding to a supporter who asked him what his plans were if Disney doesn't allow Gunn to return to the film.
Bautista's comments come exactly a week after his fellow Guardians castmates signed a petition to get Gunn reinstated as the director of the upcoming third film in the series.
A letter, signed by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and a host of other Gunn supporters said:
"We cannot let this moment pass without expressing our love, support and gratitude for James."
"We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together on set making Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2."
Gunn's most recent supporter is Kurt Russell, who appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as Ego, Star-Lord's father. "I do think we’re getting a little too sensitive on maybe some of the wrong people," Russell told Variety.
"You have to realize that when you are in that world as a comedian, a writer, whatever you’re always stretching the boundaries and trying to find something which lead him to something that the world loves, which is Guardians of the Galaxy," Russell said.
"He has a wonderful heart and a wonderful mind. I hope he is forgiven."